Apparatus for applying tear card to inner flap of wrapped package



May 3, 1960 KLAUSE EI'AL 2,934,870

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEAR CARD TO INNER F LAP OF WRAPPED PACKAGE 9Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25. 1958 INVENTORS KARL KL AUSE gammlcx A.snupe', MM

ATTORNE Y5 May 3, 1960 K. KLAUSE ETAL 2,934,870

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEAR CARD TO INNER FLAP 0F WRAPPED PACKAGE 9Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1958 INVENTORS KlAUSE 1 im I 4 1 KARLFREDERICK A cnupe; SR BY ATTORNfYS May 3, 1960 K. KLAUSE ETAL APPARATUSFOR APPLYING TEAR CARD T0 INNER FLAP 0F WRAPPED PACKAGE 9 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Sept. 25, 1958 L\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\fi INVENTORS KARI. KlAUSEEUERICK A. GRUPf, 5A

A T TORNfYS May 3, 1960 K. KLAUSE ETAL APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEAR CARDTO INNER FLAP OF WRAPPED PACKAGE 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 25, 1958 5m5 T ww flm l A PM LC m LM M "4 rw May 3, 1960 K. KLAUSE ETAL 2,934,870

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEAR CARD T0 INNER FLAP 0P WRAPPED PACKAGE FiledSept. 25, 1958 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS KARL 1a AUSE name/vex A.anupe, s

I ama! 2 ATTORNEYS May 3, 1960 K. KLAUSE ETAL 2,934,870

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEAR CARD T0 INNER FLAP OF WRAPPED PACKAGE jFiled Sept. 25, 1958 9 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTORS KARI. KtAl/SE FRE'DERICKA. GRUPL-j 5w.

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ATIURNFYS May 3, 1960 K. KLAUSE ETAL APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEAR CARD TOINNER FLAP OF WRAPPED PACKAGE Filed Sept. 25, 1958 9 Sheets-Sheet 7INVENTORS KARL KUIUSE FRfDfR/CK A. GRUPE, 5R.

Wax

A TTORNEYS May 3, 1960 K. KLAUSE ETAL 2,934,870.

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEAR CARD 'ro INNER FLAP 0F WRAPPED PACKAGE FiledSept. 25, 1958 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 IIZ INVENTORS K ARL KL 4066' F ISEUERICK A. GRUPE SR.

ATTORNEYS May 3, 1960 K. KLAUSE ETAL 2,934,870

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEAR CARD TO INNER FLAP OF WRAPPED PACKAGE FiledSept. 25, 1958 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 IN VENTORS APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TEARCARD TO INNER FLAP OF WRAPPED PACKAGE Application September 25, 1958,Serial No. 763,343 4 Claims. (CI. 53-73) This invention relates toapparatus particularly intended for association with a wrapping machinein which an article, such as a loaf of bread, is heat-sealed in awrapper of waxed'paper or the like. In its preferred aspect, thisinvention relates to apparatus for association with a bread wrappingmachine for the purpose of applying a tear card to the outer surface ofan inner folded end flap during the wrapping operation.

' There has recently been developed an improved wrapped and foldedpackage having an easy opening feature embodying a tear card positionedwithin the folds nited States, Patent O."

of the end flaps, and a method of making such a package,

both of which are the subject of co-pending application Serial No.759,758, filed on September 8, 1958, by Charles J. Lingelbach, In It isthe principal object of the present invention to provide apparatus, tobe associated with a wrapping machine, which will position and apply atear card to the outer surface of an inner folded end flap during thewrapping. operation. Additional objects wil be apparent from thefollowing description.

One-embodiment of our apparatus is illustrated in the drawings, whereinFigure 1 shows in perspective view the back and side of the tear cardapplicator section and the power transmitting section of our apparatus,and also the relationship of the'tear card applicator section with thearticle being wrapped in the wrapping machine; 7 v Figure 2 is aperspective view showing the front and side of the tear card applicatorsection A of our apparatus; j

' Figure 3 is a perspective view, partly sectioned, showing the backsideof the plunger face plate in the applicator section with its associatedmechanism;

Figure 4 is a top plan view, partly sectioned, showing the plunger faceplate in its normalposition and in its extended position'in contact witha tucker arm of the wrapping machine; a 'Figure 5 is a side elevation ofthe applicator section 'of our apparatus, as shown in Figure 2; a

'-' Figure 6 is a sectional view looking upwardly at the Geneva drivingmechanism in the direction of the arrows along line'6-6'in-Figure 5 ofthe drawing;

' Figure 7 is a front elevation of the applicator section of ourapparatus, as shown in Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a sectional top plan view of the applicator section of ourapparatus;

.[Figure 9 is a partial sectional top plan view'of the applicatorsection of our apparatus; "Figure lOis a sectional side view of theplunger faceplate mechanism looking in thedirection of the arrows alongline 10-10 in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a sectional side view of thetear card ,cutting knifeactuating mechanism. looking in the direction {of the arrows along line11-11 in Figure 9;

Figure 12 is a top plan view of the powerrtransmitting section B of ourapparatus shown in Figure ;l;

Figure 13 is a sectional side view of the clutching 2,934,870 PatentedMay 3, 1960 mechanism along the line 1313 in Figure 12 showing theclutch arm in its engaged and disengaged positions;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a loaf of bread in the process ofbeing wrapped showing a tear card in the position it can be applied byour apparatus; and

Figure 15 is a perspective view of the completed bread package having atear card inserted and adhered between the second and third folded endflaps and partly exposed to enable grasping as accomplished by theoperation of our apparatus.

,Referring to Figures 1, 2, 12 and 14 of the drawings, our apparatuscomprises two sections, the tear card applicator section indicatedgenerally by letter A and the power transmitting section indicatedgenerally by letter B. These sections are connected through atelescoping shaft 30 provided with one or more universal joints 31 thusallowing adjustability between the two sections and to correlate withchanges in the size of the article being wrapped in the wrappingmachine. The applicator section can be separately mounted on aconventional bread wrapping machine, as for example, by means ofmounting bracket 32. As shown in Figure l, a loaf of bread 33, partlywrapped and held on the end by a tucker arm 34 of the bread wrappingmachine, is in position to have a tear card applied by our apparatus.The bread package at this stage can be seen more clearly in Figure 14wherein a tear card 35 is in position to be adhered onto the secondfolded end flap 36a after the tear card is severed from the continuousweb 37 which is threaded through the applicator section A of ourapparatus. Normally, the bread and associated wrapper at this stage isin close aligned relationship with the applicator section A of theapparatus, the first end told 36 having been previously formed, and thesecond folded end flap 36a being folded over tucker arm 34 by contactwith the lower frontedge 134 ofthe faceplate 131 of the applicator inthe upward movement of the bread by the wrapping machine. The subsequentfolds 36b and 360 complete the end folds, as shown in Figure 15 It willalso be seen that the tear card 35 is thus positioned in a pocket formedby the second, third and fourth end flaps, 36a, 36b and 360,respectively.

Referring to Figures 1, 12 and 13, the operation of our apparatus issynchronized through the power transmitting section with the operationof the bread wrapping machine by means of chain 40 engaginggear 41mounted on shaft 42 extending from gear box 43. Chain 40 also engages agear 44 mounted on a shaft in the bread wrapping machine power unit.Gear box 43 contains a first bevelled gear 45, secured to shaft 42,which engages a second bevelled gear 46 secured to transverse shaft 47extending through gear box 43. A universal joint 31, mounted on theextending end of shaft 47, is connected with telescoping shaft 30.Universal joint 31 is provided with a notch or groove 48, which isengaged by springactuated braking mechanism 50 when power is notbeingtransmitted through gears 45 and 46. -This device stops shaft 30in apreselected position and prevents over-ride so that when powertransmission is resumed it will always be from a common'starting point.This phase of operation will be more clearly understood from thedescription to follow;

The'transmission of power to gears 45 and 46 is controlled by clutch .51operatively connected with gears 41, shaft 42 and gears 45 and 46.Clutch 51 is a convention a l single revolution clutch (see Figure 13)consisting of crescent shaped key 52 pivotally mounted on the back ofgear 41 by means of pin 53 and held in engagement with driving dog 54 bymeans of spring 55. Driving dog 54 is keyed to shaft 42 so that power istransmitted through shaft 42 as long as crescent shaped key 52" engages;,dog 54. This latter engagement is governed by the position 3 of clutcharm 56 mounted on shaft 60 which is in turn controlled by articlesensing means consisting of rod 62' pivotally mounted on bracket 63' andconnecting with clutch arm 56 by means of rod 64. Thus, if no loaf ofbread is in position to engage sensing rod 62', clutch arm 56 will be inthe disengaged position and continued rotation of gear 41 will cause theouter periphery of crescent shaped key 52 to engage the end of clutcharm 56 and snap it out of driving engagement with dog 54. It should benoted that in the disengaged position driving dog 54 willbe stopped in aposition correlating with the braked position of universal joint 31.Thus, operation of our apparatus will always start and stop from apredetermined point. Referring to Figures 1, 2, 3, and through 11,particularly Figures 5 through 11, in the tear card applicator sectionof our apparatus, as distinguished from the power transmitting sectionjust described, continuous web 37 of tear card material from supply roll60 passes under roller 61 down guide chute 62 under a first-drivenroller 63 and over a second-driven roller 64 having lugs 65 thereon toengage U-shaped slits 66 in tear card material 37 to carry the sameforward, and finally through a guideway slot 67 (see Figure 3) inplunger face plate frame 70. In order to facilitate initial threading ofthe tear card material through the apparatus, two arcuate threadingguide wires 71 (see Figures 5 and 8) are provided which guide theleading edge under roll 63 and up and around roll 64. An arcuate holddown guide 72 is provided to hold down the tear card material as itpasses over roll 64. A set of guide fingers 73 is provided to facilitatewithdrawal of lugs 65 from engagement with 'U-shaped slits 66 in thetear card material. Another set of guide fingers 74 is provided to holddown the lateral edges of the tear card material. Roll 63 and hold downguide 72 are provided with slots 75 and 76, respectively, to accommodatelugs 65 mounted on roll 64. Roll 64 is provided with a pair of slots 77to accommodate guide fingers 73.

Rolls 63 and '64 are rigidly mounted on shafts 80 and 81, respectively,which are in turn mounted in and between two side framing plates 82 and83. Side plates '82 and 83 are rigidly held and separated by cross bar84, and are also provided with slots 85 (see Figure 5) having adjacentthereto mounting brackets 86 to which a second cross bar 87 is bolted.Mounting bracket 32 may be bolted to an extending end of cross bar 87,as shown in Figures 1 and 9 of the drawing. Cross bars 84 and 87 aresuitably drilled and slotted to accommodate mechanism to he describedmore fully hereinafter.

Meshing gears 90 and 91 are rigidly mounted on shafts 80 and 81,respectively, in between side plates 82 and 83. These gears transmitpower to advance the tear card material, which is guided by lug 65through U- shaped slit 66, and under and over rolls 63 and 64. It shouldbe noted that shaft 80 extends through and beyond side frame plate 82and has rigidly mounted outside of said frame plate 82 a gear 92 havingfour vU- fshaped slots 93 spaced 90 apart. Gear 92 is part oftheconventional Geneva driving mechanism which contains disc 94 having aportion of its peripheral surface cutaway. The peripheral surface ofdisc 94 slides along the conforming concave portions of gear 92 whengear 92 is not being advanced. Gear 92 is advanced onefourth of arevolution at a time by sliding engagement in one of slots 93 of gear 92of a cylindrical lug 95 rotatably mounted on the end of cam 96 which is,with disc 94, keyed to a shaft 97. Shaft 97 is mounted in side framingplates 82 and 83 and extends through side plate 82 connecting withtelescoping shaft 30 through universal joint 31. Thus, power from gearbox 43 transrnitted to the Geneva driving mechanism provides inter- 100and 101 are rigidly mounted on shaft 97 between side frame plates 82 and83. Rollers 102 and 103, respectively, ride on cams 100. and 101. Shafts104 and 105 are secured to rollers 102 and 103, respectively, and extendthrough bearings 106 and 107, respectively, which are mounted in crossbar 84, and through appropriate slots provided in cross bar 87. Shafts104 and 105 are provided with conventional pressure springs 110 and 111engaging bearings 106 and 107, respectively, and held in place by meansof retaining pins 112 and 113, respectively. The end of shaft 104opposite to the end having roller 102 thereon is provided with anadjustable set screw 114, the end of which engages curved bracket 115which is rigidly secured to swinging knife 116.

- ments in our apparatus.

Knife 116 is mounted near the top of a vertically extending shaft 117which is in turn secured to the back of face plate frame 70 by means ofbrackets 120 and 121. This construction can be seen in Figures 3, 5, 7and 9 of the drawings. The return of knife blade 116 after cutting canbe effected by means of torsion spring 123, which also functions as apressure spring.

Shaft 105 with its associated mechanism, for convenience referred to asa plunger, is one of the vital ele- The end of shaft 105, extend ingthrough bearing 107, is provided with a laterally pivoting mechanismconsisting of horizontally disposed, flat pin 124 secured in the end ofshaft 105. The shaft is also provided with amounting bracket 125 havinghorizontally disposed, flat pin 124 secured in the end of shaft 105. Theshaft is also provided with a mounting bracket 125 having horizontallydisposed slots adapted to receive the ends of flat pin 124, andvertically disposed, cylindrical pin 126 extending through bracket 125,pin 124 and shaft 105. The opposite side of mounting bracket 125 isprovided with insulation 127 to reduce heat transfer from heating means130 which provides heat to face plate 131 from its back side. Face plate131 is secured to heating means 130 which is in turn secured to mountingbracket 125, thus providing a lateral pivoting mittent advancement ofthe tear card material-during movement for face plate 131. Electricalpower for heating means 130 is supplied through wires 132. Thetemperature of face plate 131 may be controlled by means of thermostat133.

Face plate 131 is provided along its lower front edge with ahorizontally extending lip 134 which aligns with the leading edge oftear card material 37. The importance of this lip'134 will be explainedmore fully hereinafter. Face plate 131 in its reciprocating movementextends through the opening provided in face plate frame 70 which isitself secured to side framing plates 82 and 83 (see Figures 7 and 9).Face plate frame 70 has mounted on its front surface over guideway slot67 and slotted opening 135 a stationary knife blade 136 which engagesmoving knife blades 116 passing through slotted opening 135 in thecutting of tear card material 37.

In the normal operation of our apparatus, a length of tear card material37 is advanced into position for application, adhesive side out, by theengagement of lug 95 in one slot 93 of gear 92 in the Geneva mechanismfor 90 of the revolution of disc 94. In the drawings, lug 95 is shownjust leaving a slot 93 in gear 92 so that the end portion of the tearcard material would normally be over face platev 131. The leading edgeof the tear card material will either be resting on lip 134 of faceplate 131 or slightly above it, depending upon the accuracy with whichthe u shaped slits 66 have been put in tear card material 37. TheseU-shaped slits are put in the tear card material in registration withprinting appearing thereon under the control of electric eyes which havean accuracy of plus or minus of an inch. Thus, it is possible for thelength of the tear card to vary as much as of an inch. When the tearcard material is is in place over face plate 131 the bread wrappingmachine elevates a loaf of bread upwardly from directly under LJML v I,g s hat ,1. tact-with the lower edge of face plate lip 134 and frame 70.The function of lip 134 on face plate 131 is thus apparent. Except forthe protection afforded by lip 134, the end of the loaf of bread comingup in close aligning relationship with face plate 131 would catch theleading end of tear card material 37 and force it upwardly out ofposition so that the tear card would not beapplied in the proper manner.In the period while the tear card material is waiting for a loaf ofbread to be elevated into position, heat from face plate 131 istransferred to the overlying end portion of tear card material 37 toactivate the adhesive thereon and prepare it for application to thebread wrapper flap. As pointed out previously, the operation of ourapparatus is synchronized with that of the bread wrapping machine, andsince the bread wrapping machine may turn out as few as 25 and as manyas 60 or more loaves a minute, it is desirable that the temperature offace plate 131 be controlled so as to properly activate theheat-sensitive adhesive on the tear card material. That is, heated faceplate 131 must activate the adhesive in the time period during which itis in contact with the end portion of the tear card material. Thus, faceplate 131 will be at a higher temperature when the wrapping machine isoperating at a rate of 60 loaves per minute than it would be when thewrapping machine is operating at the rate of about 25 loaves per minute.

When loaf of bread 33 is in position to receive a tear card, therotation of shaft 97 (see Figures 3 and 9) first causes cam 100 toactuate cutting knife 116- to cut off the desired length of tear cardmaterial and then cam 101 actuates plunger shaft 105 to bring heatedface plate 131 and the cutoff portion of tear card material having theadhesive thereon activated tightly against the flap portion of the breadwrapper facing the same. The function of the pivotal mounting of faceplate 131 can be seen in Figure 4 where the depression of tucker arm 34is shown together with the compression of the loaf of bread. That is,.itis important in forming a good seal that the face plate be appliednormally and firmly to the flap; otherwise, a poor seal would beachieved and the tear card would be easily moved or torn away onsubsequent lateralmovement of the bread in the folding and sealing ofthe third and fourth end flaps in completing the end closure.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that a high degreeof mechanical cooperation between the various elements of our apparatusis required for effective utilization of the apparatus in associattionwith a wrapping machine. That is, the sensing mechanism activates thepower transmitting section when an article is being wrapped in thewrapping machine, and the power transmitting section provides the energyto the applicator section so that it may advance the tear card materialinto position, activate the adhesive thereon and cut and apply the tearcard at the precise moment and during the brief period which the articleis in position. The cutting and applying operations accomplish thedesired end result and are governed in large measure by thev design andarrangement of cams 100 and 101. However, without the associatedcooperating elements, the desired end result would not be achieved.

Referring to Figure 15, the desired end result is illustrated in theform of a completed bread package 33 having a tear card 35 positionedbetween the second and third folded end flaps, 36a and 36b respectvely,adhered to the former, and having an exposed grasping portion which whendrawn downwardly will rupture the third flap near its inner folded edgeand expose the contents. We have found that our apparatus, as describedhereinabove, can be eificiently and effectively operated in associattionwith a commercial bread wrapping machine, such as is manufactured andsold by American Machine & Foundry Corporation, to produce the packageillustrated in Figure l5.

aasisio While this inven'tionghas been described and w H plified interms of a preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate-that modificationscgg be made without departing from the}spirit offlthe invention as defined broadly in -the appended clairns.

HWecl im: r v In apparatus for applying a tear card-to an, inner flap ofa wrapped package during the wrappingthereof by a wrapping machine, thecombination of a reciprocating plunger having pivotally mounted thereonaface plate, said face plate having a lip portion along its bottom faceedge aligning with the leading end of a continu ous length of tear cardmaterial; means for heating said face plate; means for actuatingsaid-plunger to force the tear card material into contact with a flap ofwrapping material; .a reciprocating knife for cutting a predeterminedlength of tear card material; means for actuating said reciprocatingknife; means for holding and guiding a continuous length of tear cardmaterial into aligned relationship with said plunger face plate; meansfor periodically advancing the leading end of the tear card materialadjacent to the lip of said plunger face plate; power transmitting meansoperatively connected with said plunger and knife actuating means andsaid advancing means; power disengaging means operatively connected tosaid power transmitting means; article sensing means operativelyconnected with said power disengaging means; and means for synchronizingsaid power transmitting means with the operation of the wrappingmachine.

2. In apparatus for applying a tear card to an inner flap of a wrappedpackage during the wrapping thereof by a wrapping machine, thecombination of a reciprocating plunger having a pivotally mounted faceplate, said face plate having a lip portion along its bottom face edgealigning with the leading end of a continuous length of tear cardmaterial; thermostatically controlled means for heating the face of saidplunger; means for actuating said plunger to force said tear cardmaterial into contact with a flap of wrapping material; plunger faceplate framing means; a reciprocating knife for cutting a predeterminedlength of the tear card material; means for actuating said reciprocatingknife; a stationary knife mounted on said framing means and positionedto engage said reciprocating knife in the cutting of the tear cardmaterial; means for holding a continuous length of tear card materialand guiding the end thereof [into aligned rela tionship with saidplunger face plate; means for periodically advancing the leading end ofthe tear car-d material adjacent to the lip of said plungerface plate;power transmitting means operatively connected with said plunger andknife actuating means and said advancing means; power disengaging meansoperatively connected to said power transmitting means; article sensingmeans operatively connected with said power disengaging means; and meansfor synchronizing said-power transmitting means with the operation ofthe wrapping machine.

3. In apparatus for applying axtear card to an inner flap of a wrappedpackage during'the wrapping thereof by a wrapping machine, thecombination of a cam-actuated plunger having a face plate pivotallymounted on its end, said face plate having a lip portion along itsbottom 'face edge aligned with the leading edge of a continuous lengthof tear card material; means for heating said plunger face plate;plunger face plate framing means slotted to act as a guide for the tearcard material; a cam-actuated knife for cutting a pretermined length oftear card material; a stationary knife mounted on said face plateframing means and positioned to engage said first-mentioned knife in thecutting operation; means for holding a continuous length of tear cardmaterial and guiding the leading end thereof into aligned relationshipwith said plunger face plate; cam actuating means for synchronously andconsecutively advancing the leading end of the tear card materialadjacent to the lip of said plunger face plate, actuating said cuttingknife, and acthe combination according to claim 3 wherein said camtua'ting said plunger; a gear-box operatively connected actuating meansincludes a Geneva driving mechanism. with said cam actuating means; aclutch operatively con- 2 nei'cted with' said gear-box; article sensingmeans opera- Reeremes Cited n the file of thls Patent tiy ely cp'nnectedwith said clutch; and means for syn- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS chrbnizil'is'aid gear-box with the operation of the wrap 2,844,929 Rj l July 291958 ping ma me.

I 4. In apparatus for applying a tear card t0 an inner FOREIGN PATENTSflap of a wrapped package during the wra ing th f, 248,422 Gr at BritainMar. 1, 1956

